


You're Here

by Lisamc21



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Edward Scissorhands - Freeform, First Kiss, First Time, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Halloween, Light Angst, Love at First Sight, Lust at First Sight, M/M, Mention of Surgery, Superman - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:16:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27183694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lisamc21/pseuds/Lisamc21
Summary: At a massive Halloween party on the outside of Schitt's Creek, David and Patrick meet and hit it off and the night takes a turn neither expect.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 63
Kudos: 230
Collections: Schitt's Creek Trick Or Treat





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [SCTrickOrTreat](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SCTrickOrTreat) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Patrick is recently questioning his sexuality and gets dragged to a Halloween party by a friend. He meets David and all the questioning starts to make sense. They hit it off, maybe kiss? For a reason of your choice, maybe they don't swap numbers or anything. Then later (maybe the next Halloween?) they both show up hoping to meet again and do and happily ever after awwwww.
> 
> \-----
> 
> You may need to suspend some disbelief with a couple elements in this fic, including David willingly going to a townie Halloween party ;)

“Ted, I’m not sure this is a good idea.” Patrick took a swig from his beer.

“Of course it’s a good idea. It’s Halloween, bud! Your first Halloween in Schitt’s Creek. You gotta come to the party.” Ted popped the top off his own beer.

Ted’s evergreen optimism had helped Patrick ease into his new life as a single man with no plan, no direction, no permanent place to live. Crashing on Ted’s couch could be worse, but it wasn’t where he’d expected to be at thirty. He thought he’d be married to Rachel, saving for a down payment on a house, and talking about having kids.

“Do you know anyone going?”

Ted shrugged. “Sure I will. You meet a lot of people when you’re one of a handful of vets in the area. Plus, there’ll be alcohol.”

He didn’t mind the sound of that, but with all Ted had done for him the past few weeks, he shoulder offer to be designated driver. “Hey, you drink. I’ll be DD.”

Ted clapped his back. “You need it more than I do.”

Fair, but he’d rather not drink around an unknown number of strangers. “No worries, man. You drink tonight. You don’t have to work tomorrow morning, right? Take advantage.”

“You sure?” Ted took a long swig of his beer after Patrick nodded. Their cheap beer was practically flavored water anyway so he’d be fine to drive.

“Absolutely. I guess I’ll go get ready.” Throwing together a costume that afternoon had been easier than he’d expected. He already had the button-up, the Superman T-shirt, suit jacket and tie. All he’d needed to pick up from the Elmdale pharmacy were a pair of reading glasses that he’d removed the lenses from. Easy costume.

An hour later, Patrick parked outside of the industrial complex. “Are you sure we’re in the right place?”

“It’s a seasonal business and the owner rents it out for events during the cooler months. Lots of folks in the area have multiple jobs to make ends meet. They do a pretty great Christmas market here.”

Cars littered every inch of road and parking lot, leaving two narrow lanes for traffic. A couple dozen people made their way toward the building where music blared and a strobe light flashed.

When his old college roommate told him they’d be going to a town Halloween party, he’d expected a tame affair in the high school gym or something, but this looked like a rager. “This is way bigger than I expected.”

Ted laughed. Always so good-natured. “Not a lot of options for adults in these parts.”

Patrick understood that. His hometown wasn’t as small as Schitt’s Creek, but small enough that he understood feeling desperate for entertainment. That’s probably why he’d started dating Rachel so young and never questioned it. What else was there to do? Who else was there to date?

The million dollar question.

Ted claimed there was a queer scene in Schitt’s Creek and the Greater Elms area, but he had no idea what Ted’s definition of a “queer scene” was. Hell, he didn’t have a definition for himself. He’d barely realized he was maybe, probably, mostly probably gay, let alone having explored opportunities to meet other queers in the area.

Would there be gay men? No, crap. Men who liked men. He really needed to learn the right language. How would he know if someone was flirting with him instead of being friendly? With women, he always knew because he didn’t usually have women lining up just to be friends. But with others? He had no idea how to tell the difference between friends and flirting.

He should have taken up Ted’s offer to drink. Get out of his head for a night.

“If you end up meeting anyone, I can catch a ride home with someone else.” Ted winked at him like he could read his mind. Ted always had a knack for that. Awful puns and sharp observations. He’d sensed Patrick and Rachel’s break-ups before it’d happened. Every time. A break-up sniffing vet like a truffle-sniffing pig.

“And if you want to bring someone home, I can make myself scarce. Don’t need to kill the mood with someone loitering on your sofa.”

Ted laughed. They walked through the large industrial doors and into the excessive bass.

_Okay, Schitt’s Creek. What do you have for me?_


	2. Chapter 2

“I can’t believe you dragged me to this townie party,” David bent down and grumbled into Stevie’s ear. “This is worse than that tailcroc you made me go to.”

Stevie stopped and looked up at him. “You mean tail _gater_?”

He rolled his eyes and waved his hands dismissively. “Whatever!”

“You’re a townie now. Might as well make it official by checking out the big Halloween bash. It brings people from all over the Greater Elms.”

“Goodie,” he mumbled to himself. They were too close to the source of the migraine-inducing Halloween pop songs for her to hear him anyway.

“For someone who doesn’t want to be here, you sure put a lot of effort into your costume, David.”

Alexis’ sexy nurse costume was disgustingly uncreative. He gaped at her. “That’s like saying, ‘I don’t want to leave the house so I’m just going to wear sweats to work.’”

She rolled her eyes. “I know, I know.”

“Always put in the effort because you don’t know where the paparazzi is lurking,” they said in unison, doing their best impressions of their mom.

“It’s really creepy when you two do that,” Stevie said.

“What are you supposed to be dressed as, anyway?” David adjusted the forearm wraps he’d designed with silver-painted cardboard he’d cut into scissors.

“A hipster.”

David bared his teeth. “Did you literally just think of something that would let you wear flannel.”

She shrugged. “I’ll drink lots of PBR, don’t worry.”

David surveyed the large, open warehouse space. His costume was the most elaborate, hands down. Edward Scissorhands had probably been an over-the-top choice, but he’d been itching to wear some of his leather collection, and he always looked great in skinny jeans. Though, washing all the hairspray from his hair would be a fucking nightmare later.

Plenty of sexy medical professionals, sexy law enforcement, sexy educators, Scream masks, and superheroes. Boring, boring, boring. He stopped his scanning when his attention landed on a broad pair of shoulders. Very nice shoulders. A guy with close-cropped brown hair laughed as he talked to someone, but he couldn’t see who with a concrete column in the way.

“Split up and survey the randoms?” Stevie asked as she looked between Alexis and David.

He and his sister nodded.

“Text 911 if anyone needs rescuing,” Alexis added.

“And I’ve got the car keys so we’re leaving when I say.”

“Ugh.” Alexis rolled her eyes. “You said you’d stay until midnight at least.”

“I can get a ride from someone else if you bitch out.” Stevie sent a challenging smirk his way.

“Okay, okay.” He huffed out a breath.

“Don’t forget what Twyla said!” Alexis booped him on the nose before strutting into the dancing crowd.

How could he forget Twyla’s ominous tarot reading? The full moon would bring an important person into his life. Don’t put up his usual walls or some crap like that. It’s probably what she’d said to everyone. Hell, she knew him well enough by that point to know he didn’t exactly let people get close. Easy enough jump to make.

Like someone special would walk into his life at a townie Halloween bash in a partially abandoned warehouse. His version of warehouse parties usually involved a bucket of E and EDM making his teeth rattle. The promise of finding private, dark corners were plentiful but his hopes for finding a suitable random were slim. Pity.

He circled the perimeter of the main room. Stevie had said something about it being some sort of farmer storage during the spring and summer, which explained the disturbingly earthy smell.

People around him laughed and danced and drank to _Thriller_. He knew the dance, but any notions of using his _13 Going on 30_ -inspired dance training was shot when he spotted Roland and Jocelyn on the dance floor completely fucking up the choreography.

He leaned against another one of the cement columns and took another visual pass. Ah. A bar. He still had a couple of hours until he could start nagging Alexis and Stevie to leave, so he could afford to have a drink and still be okay to drive.

A pair of broad shoulders worked through the crowd and toward the bar. David grinned to himself. Perfect time to get a drink.


	3. Chapter 3

Patrick needed a drink. Ted’s polite conversations with the steady stream of clients who approached, and the number of questions about the best budget cat food brand, nearly had him running out screaming. Normally he was a lot more patient, but he’d been on edge for weeks since he’d broken up with Rachel for good after telling her he suspected he was gay.

Why was it so hard to claim the label? It’s not like he’d needed to have sex with a woman to believe he was straight as a teenager. So why did he feel like he needed to touch a dick to prove to himself he liked men? So stupid.

He made his polite excuses to Ted and headed toward the makeshift bar he’d spotted. A gaggle of giggling women crossed in his path so he paused to let them pass. He looked over to his left and his breath caught. A tall, lean man in head-to-toe black strode toward the bar. Hair wild and sticking out all over. Leather and silver buckles wrapped around his chest while his black jeans looked painted on. Silver blades hanging from his wrists.

Jesus Christ. That guy was a hotter Edward Scissorhands than Johnny Depp, and few people were as hot as Johnny Depp. Huh. His long-standing love for Johnny Depp movies should have been a clue that maybe he wasn’t as straight as he’d assumed.

The women cleared his path, and he double-timed it to the bar, hoping to get in line with the sexiest man Patrick had ever laid eyes on. It’s like his dick had a GPS and the navigation was set to that guy.

He gave himself a mental high five when he got in line immediately behind him, which gave him the chance to check out his ass in those jeans. More difficult than he’d expected with the dark material and dim lighting. The strobe lights gave him enough of a glimpse to drive him a little wild.

The faux scissors on the man’s right hand tapped a staccato beat against his thigh. The movement damn near had Patrick hypnotized as the line moved closer to the bar. He tore his attention away and looked up at the frazzled bartenders, who seemed barely able to keep up with the thirsty masses. Good thing he’d brought cash to leave a sizable tip.

The line spread out the closer it got to the bar as multiple bartenders took orders. He seized the opportunity to stand next to the man. He turned and smiled at Patrick and _whoa_. Eyes dark as onyx twinkled in the flashing lights as his small smile slid to one side of his mouth. Devastatingly gorgeous.

“You going to be able to drink with those?” He glanced down at the man’s hands and smirked.

“Hopefully the cardboard doesn’t cut through plastic.” His small smile deepened, revealing a dimple.

“Well, if you need a drink carrying assistant, I’d be happy to offer my services. It’s one of my superhero talents.” He pointed to the S on his chest. Hold the phone. Did he just flirt with a guy?! Patrick bit back a grin and tried to play it cool.

“Very gallant of you.”

“Gallant is my middle name.”

“How medieval. Is your first name Chivalrous?”

“Close. Patrick.”

“David. I’d shake your hand but.” He shrugged.

Shame. He wanted to touch those large hands. “But you don’t want to give me a paper cut. Can cardboard give paper cuts?”

David ran one of the fake blades across his other palm. “Looks like it’s safe.”

“You might need a second opinion.” What the hell kind of flirting demon had possessed his body? And how could he convince it to stay?

David’s lips disappeared between his teeth as he held out his hand, palm up.

Patrick cupped the back of David’s hand and gently trailed a finger on his palm. “Hmm. No cut.” He looked up and smiled at David.

“You two going to stop flirting and move?” Patrick turned toward the voice and winced at her glare.

“Sorry, Ronnie.” David smirked at Patrick and walked forward in the gap that had formed in front of them. He shot David a sheepish smile and found the man grinning back.

“Since you offered to be my drink carrying assistant, the least I can do is buy you a drink.”

Oh God. Oh God. Oh my God. “Sounds like a fair trade to me.”

They stepped up to the bar and David bought them each a vodka soda. They were light vodka pours, but that was probably for the best since he had to drive eventually. And with how much he flirted already, he should steer clear of too much social lubricant.

“Have you been to a party here before?” David asked as they moved away from the line.

Patrick shook his head. He leaned into David’s space as he responded since they’d moved toward the loud speakers. “Just moved to the area. Have you?”

David’s eyes flashed at his response, but he quickly seemed to collect himself. “I’ve been avoiding it since I moved here, but my friend talked me into it,” he said into

Patrick’s ear and that straight shot of his voice went right to his groin.  
Patrick looked around them. “Do you need to get back to your friend?” He tried not to frown as he said it. He wasn’t ready to let David go yet.

David quickly shook his head, then stopped once they reached a less crowded part of the room away from the throng of dancers. David leaned down again. “She’s, um, on the prowl.” His breath tickled Patrick’s neck.

He looked up at David and managed not to squeeze their drinks until the plastic cups cracked. He slowly leaned in so his mouth was centimeters from David’s ear and the heat from his cheek warmed Patrick’s own. “Are you on the prowl too?” Clearly his filter had gone on vacation.

As he pulled back, he caught the end of David’s smile. “I was.”

David’s words settled over Patrick’s shoulders like the weight of a championship medal. Of the probably several hundred people at the party, David had chosen Patrick to talk to. How had someone so average caught the attention of someone so striking?

Patrick shifted so he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with David, surveying the crowd. He’d been to plenty of Halloween parties in his life, but never one with such a motley crew. People spanning several generations all brought together by dancing and booze. He gently pressed his shoulder into David’s arm and turned to speak in his ear so he didn’t have to yell over the music. “Do you think there’s a costume contest?”

David shook his head and angled his head down to speak. The hairsprayed ends of his hair tickled Patrick’s temple. “I can’t imagine how they’d manage that in all this chaos, but I’ve been wrong before about this place.”

“I bet you’d win. You have the best costume here.”

The way David’s mouth slightly quirked up send a thrill through Patrick. He got the sense David wasn’t quick to smile, so any headway he made felt like a prize. “Well, thank you.” He turned his head and looked down Patrick’s body, or probably as much as he could with how close they stood to each other. “Your Superman costume is different than the others. That’s good.”

Patrick laughed. “I probably should have done something a bit more original, but I hadn’t planned on coming tonight. My friend talked me into it.”

David pinched his lips to one side as he turned his head to talk into Patrick’s ear. His stubble ghosted across Patrick’s skin. “You’ll have to thank your friend for me.”

It took all of Patrick’s self control to stay upright in that moment. “I suppose it’s a good thing I brought all of these things with me when I moved here. Except for the glasses. Picked these up today.”

David pulled away from the wall and moved so he stood in front of Patrick, effectively blocking him from the rest of the party. The light barely reached their part of the open space, but in David’s shadow it may as well have been a dark corner. He reached up and pulled the glasses off of Patrick’s face. “Mm. Great disguise, Superman.” Head radiated off of David’s body and Patrick could almost feel the weight of him, but they weren’t touching. Even as David replaced Patrick’s glasses, his fingers didn’t brush his skin. Like he was doing it intentionally to keep Patrick wanting. Holy hell he’d never been so turned on.

A laugh almost bubbled out of him as he thought about choosing a Halloween costume of Superman disguised as Clark Kent. Like Gay Patrick unknowingly disguised as Straight Patrick for so many years.

But no longer.

“You’re not the only one who made a costume of clothes from their closet.”

Patrick itched to pull David’s body against his. Oh. Wait. _Oh_. He studied David’s buckled leather top more closely. He’d assumed it was some fake thing David had bought online, but up close he could see that it was real leather and looked… worn in?

His nostrils flared, and he looked up into David’s eyes. “You already had this?” Patrick tugged on a buckle with his forefinger.

David nodded, tugging his bottom lip between his teeth as he watched Patrick’s finger.

“Do you dress up as Edward Scissorhands every year to give Johnny Depp a run for his money?”

Dimples. David had _deep_ dimples when he smiled. Damn.

“Got a thing for Johnny Depp, eh?”

“How could I not after _Crybaby_?”

David’s shoulders shook. “Definitely not the Johnny Depp vehicle I would have expected you to mention.”

Patrick shrugged and grinned at David. “Can’t be too predictable.” He let some promise leak into his words. He had no idea how fun flirting could be. Had he really missed years of this?

David offered a teasing smile before taking a drink and looking to their side.

Patrick realized he hadn’t let go of the buckle at David’s chest. His flirting technique hadn’t embarrassed him yet and he was having more fun than he could remember having, so he might as well keep going. He tugged gently on the buckle, but firm enough to press their bodies together, as he pressed his mouth close enough to touch David’s earlobe. “Is this the only leather piece in your wardrobe or is there more where this came from?”

David licked his lips. “Oh, there’s more. So much more,” he said into Patrick’s ear, letting his stubble scratch Patrick’s cheek as he straightened up. “Want to go explore the building? Find a place to talk where we don’t have to shout?” He managed to say it so nonchalantly, as though they both didn’t know they weren’t shouting at all with how close they kept their mouths to each other’s ears.

Patrick nodded before his mouth began working. “Yes, David. Let’s do that.” He followed David’s skinny jeans through the crowd and willed his heart not to thud out of its chest.


	4. Chapter 4

David had no idea where the fuck he was going or what the fuck he was doing or who the fuck he was with.

Okay, two out of three were true.

He knew he was looking for a private place where maybe he could touch Patrick’s dick or get Patrick to touch his. Or maybe both if he got lucky because that Superman was super hot. Cocky and bashful? The killer combination had David’s head spinning. He kind of wanted to sit down and have a couple of drinks with him and talk? Was that weird? Yeah, that was weird. He didn’t _talk_ with randoms.

“I’m surprised they don’t have security stationed to keep people from wandering around.”

David smirked at Patrick as they passed several couples making out in dark corners. “I think the building is pretty well emptied out this time of year, so they’re probably not worried about people getting up to too much trouble.” He considered the trouble he hoped they were about to get in. “Or damage, anyway.”

Patrick grinned at the floor as they walked. The last thing he’d expected at the party was actually meeting someone. He hadn’t said much to Patrick yet, but already he had captured David’s interest more than any other man he’d met since moving to Schitt’s Creek. He had an undercurrent of sweetness beneath the excellent flirting.

David stopped and twisted the knob on a closed door. Maybe it was an office? He opened it and found two people already making out inside. “Sorry,” he mumbled as he closed the door.

“This is giving me college flashbacks.”

“Oh? Do tell.”

“Drunkenly bumbling through a frat house and trying to find an empty room to make out in.” Even in the dim light, it looked like Patrick’s cheeks flamed. Adorable.

He bared his teeth. “You’re a frat guy?”

Patrick laughed, and the sound snaked its way underneath David’s leather and warmed his skin. “Nope. Frats had the best parties though.”

“Fair enough.” He cracked another door open and quickly closed it. Too much skin. Yikes. “Let’s check upstairs. The music won’t be as loud up there.”

Patrick shot him a teasing smile. “Yeah. The music.”

David bit his lips together as he ascended the cement steps. “I wonder what this place looks like when it’s in full operation.” There was still so much about Schitt’s Creek he didn’t know.

“Guessing this must be the administrative area.” Patrick turned on his cell phone flashlight to light their path.

Patrick was probably right. Carpeting covered the second floor hallway and evenly spaced doors lined the hallways from what he could see. David decided to try the third door on the left. It opened to a partially furnished office. An empty bookcase, desk and office chair. Perfect. He gestured for Patrick to go in first, and Patrick found a light switch and flicked it on. He squinted at the fluorescents.

“God, that’s bright.”

“Mmhmm.” David blinked a couple of times and took the opportunity to study Patrick in more detail, but quickly learned Patrick was doing the same. He knew he looked good in leather, so he let Patrick look. Patrick was hot. Really hot in a corporate nerd sort of way. The broad shoulders topped what looked like a sturdy chest and thick biceps. His hair had more red hue in it than he’d expected.

Patrick’s gaze wandered up and down David twice. He tossed Patrick a smirk as he walked around him and sat in the office chair, giving it a spin. The urge to maul Patrick surged within him, but he wanted to draw it out. Talk a little bit. Keep flirting and enjoy the build-up he didn’t usually get to in the Wobbly Elm.

“Of all the places in the world you could land, what brought you to the Greater Elms?” David spun again and by the time he stopped, Patrick sat on the desk next to him.

Patrick took a slow sip of his drink. Ah. One of those stories. He really hoped this guy was single and not just out for a secret romp. “I sort of blew up my life and needed a fresh start. My college roommate lives in the area so I’m crashing with him for a bit.”

“A good blow up or a ‘shit, what the hell am I going to do now?’ blow up?” He had no business asking, but he wanted to know more about Patrick. Might as well roll with it.

Patrick laughed, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Both?”

David nodded slowly as he lifted his cup to his mouth.

“The Cliff’s Notes version is I realized I’m gay, broke up with my high school sweetheart, quit my job, and moved hours away from my hometown. And, here I am at a Halloween party where I came across the hottest guy I’ve ever seen.”

David choked on the drink. Once his coughing subsided, he looked up to see Patrick smiling at him.

“You okay?”

“Mm. Yup. Wrong pipe.”

“Sorry, that was a lot to drop on you,” Patrick said on a laugh.

David waved him off. It was surprisingly refreshing for a stranger to share so much with him. Maybe he felt the flicker of a connection like David did. “If it helps, I ended up here for a similar reason. I mean, I already knew I liked men, but my life blew up and here I am.” He smiled at Patrick. “It’s not so bad here.”

Patrick knocked his ankle against David’s knee. “Maybe this part of Ontario collects people like us.”

Like us. “Yeah, maybe.” David leaned back in the chair and dropped his feet on the desk, showing off his long legs. Patrick immediately noticed, and David could damn near feel Patrick’s attention like a caress.

“Any advice for a new resident?”

“So you’re staying?” David cursed himself for sounding more hopeful than nonchalant.

Patrick’s smile widened and crinkled the corners of his eyes. He really had a great smile. “Planning on it. I still need to find a job and my own place, but yeah. I think I’ll stick around. The people seem nice.”

“Nice.” David snorted. He crossed one ankle over the other, which put his feet right next to Patrick’s hip. “Don’t order the smoothies and Cafe Tropical in Schitt’s Creek unless you plan to stick near a bathroom for a couple of hours.” Oh. My God. Why was he talking about that with a man he wanted to make out with?! “I’ve ever had one, but my sister gets smoothies there a lot and has learned the safe flavors.” Shut the fuck up. Stop talking. “Their eggs and toast is fine. Meatloaf could be worse.”

“That’s a hot tip, David. Thank you.” Patrick’s lips squeezed together like he was trying to hold back a laugh.

“Of the various towns in the area, Elmdale has the most to offer in terms of things bordering entertainment.”

“Now I’ve got to know what you consider entertainment.”

“There’s a movie theater that shows movies that have been out for a few months.”

“Trendy.”

David smirked. “There’s a bowling alley that smells vaguely of Lysol and cigarettes.”

Patrick’s hand shifted as he gripped the desk, and his knuckles brushed the denim covering David’s ankle. “Eau de stale cigarettes. Sexy.”

“And there’s a few bars.”

“Alcohol can be good entertainment.”

David’s arched an eyebrow. “It can. It can also lead to good entertainment.” Patrick’s cheeks reddened, and it was the most adorable thing.

“It can indeed.” He lifted his cup to his mouth and took a slow sip as he watched David. Superman was a super flirt. “What kind of bars are there? Dive bars? Sports bars? Gay bars?”

David snorted. “No gay bars. I think there’s one an hour away or so, but that’s out of ride-share range so I’ve never been. Going to a gay bar and staying sober doesn’t sound like a good time.” He grimaced.

Patrick shrugged. “I haven’t been to one yet. I’m not sure what to expect.”

“There’s a huge range in what the gay bars are like. They’re not all hyper sexual places like many people assume, but some are.” He tried to imagine meeting Patrick while cruising in a gay bar. Walking in and seeing him nursing a beer. Making eye contact long enough to indicate interest, then jerking his head toward the bathroom. Striding toward the door, knowing Patrick trailed behind. The chemistry between them as strong as a magnet.

“The kind where you do some sort of gesture to indicate you want to suck someone off in a bathroom stall?”

Patrick’s directness startled a laugh out of David. “Yeah, something like that, but it happens more like that in the movies than real life.”

“How do you pick up on someone in a gay bar?” Patrick took a casual sip of his drink.

He eyed Patrick for a moment to see if the flirting vibe was as strong under the fluorescents as it had been in the dim light downstairs. And, yeah, yeah it was. He felt eye-fucked and wrung out and wanted the real thing. Patrick wanted to know how David would pick someone up? He’d show him.

David bent his knees and shifted one leg so both of his feet were propped on the edge of the desk, bookending Patrick’s hips. The way Patrick’s eyes widened and his lips parted at David’s spread legs should be immortalized in art. He worked to keep his tone casual. “You mean like seeing a sexy guy with killer shoulders from across the room, then going to the bar at the same time as him to get in line near each other. Then buy him a drink and get him away from the party for some privacy? Is that what you mean by picking someone up?”

He finished his drink and watched Patrick freeze for a moment like he had to process David’s words a couple of times to catch up to them. And then, gloriously, magically, the corners of his eyes crinkled as his smile widened.

Patrick tossed back the rest of his drink, then sat the cup on the desk. “David, are you insinuating you’ve picked me up?” He lowered his legs until he stood in front of the desk, between David’s knees. He wrapped his thick fingers around David’s shins. For a moment, David lost himself to thoughts of where else he wanted those fingers.

“Patrick, are you suggesting I haven’t?” He watched Patrick’s pupils darken until his eyes were a couple of shades closer to David’s own.  
Patrick removed one hand from David’s leg to pull the cup from David’s hand, then place it on the desk. He put his hand back and slid both up David’s legs as he leaned toward David in the chair. David had to remind himself that being recently out didn’t equal having no game because Patrick had more game than an entire sportsball team.

Once Patrick’s hands reached David’s upper thighs, and his mouth paused close, oh, so close, to David’s, he whispered, “I’m not suggesting that at all.” Then he closed the gap and the ground fell away as their lips touched. If Patrick wasn’t clutching his legs, surely David would have fallen backward in the chair. All too quickly, Patrick pulled away and David leaned forward to chase his lips. His lips had no shame. Frankly, all of David had no shame in that moment.

“Well.” Patrick cleared his throat as his grip tightened. Fuck. David hoped he’d leave a mark. He wanted to press into bruises during a shower later.

“Well?” David cleared his throat and attempted to look indifferent while inside he fought the urge to climb Patrick like a tree.

Patrick’s pupils were blown. “That confirmed a lot of things.”

The muscles in the left side of David’s face twitched with the urge to smile. A chaste closed-mouth kiss did that? “Feeling okay?” No matter how hard David’s dick fought his brain for control, he wanted to make sure Patrick was okay. A courtesy David hadn’t been shown too often.

“David, I feel fucking great.”

Without dropping eye contact with Patrick, David removed the fake scissors gloves and tossed them away, then pulled his feet off the desk and placed them on the ground. He slowly stood and used his full height as he press Patrick back against the desk. “Great is good, but let’s go for fucking spectacular.”

Before Patrick could get out a word, David’s mouth was on him. Teasing the seam of his lips with his tongue as his fingers forged a path up the sides of his shirt, under his blazer. Patrick moaned as David teased with his tongue, and he gripped David’s waist. Hard. Needing a moment to catch his breath, he shifted his attention to Patrick’s neck. The sounds he pulled from Patrick would feature prominently in his dreams.

“David,” Patrick said his name like a prayer. He pressed his hips into Patrick’s so he could feel David’s hardening dick, which elicited more sinful sounds from him. If clothes on did all that, what would David get from him with clothes off? He wanted nothing more than to find that out. If not tonight, then later. Goddamn. He actually wanted to see Patrick again.

David didn’t want to push too far so Patrick used his strength to maneuver Patrick so they switched spots. He hopped up onto the desk and wrapped his legs around Patrick’s, pulling him close. “Hi,” he said as he softly kissed him.

“Hi,” Patrick responded on a sigh sweeter than honey.

David grabbed Patrick’s hands and placed them back on his thighs, but a bit higher this time. Patrick got the hint and his fingers moved north until they pressed into the crease at his hips. They kissed for a while. David had intended to maintain complete control so he could make sure Patrick had a good experience as a newly out man, but Patrick’s expert lips, tongue and hands triple-teamed him to drive him absolutely wild.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but Patrick’s hands seemed to wander with more intent. Inching closer and closer to David’s cock, but not quite touching that part of his jeans. Was he waiting for permission? Or scared? Maybe it was too fast? He’d referenced being recently out. Maybe he didn’t have much experience yet. David might as well test the waters.

“Fuck, Patrick. You’re so hot. You have me so turned on.” David pointedly reached down and adjusted himself in his jeans. He’d nearly moved Patrick’s hand there to show him how hard he made David, but he didn’t want to force Patrick to touch anything he wasn’t ready for.

Patrick stopped kissing David’s earlobe to look down at his groin. Yesssss. “Can I?” Patrick’s voice was hoarse.

“Can you what?” The question was sixty percent about consent and forty percent being a dick.

“Can I touch you?”

David huffed out a laugh. “I might die if you don’t.”

Patrick tilted his head back and groaned. “Is this really happening right now or did I get drugged with some rural cocktail that has me hallucinating?”

David hooked a finger in the waistband of Patrick’s pants. “If your hallucination features making out with a knock-off Johnny Depp in a room with fluorescent lights that do no one any favors, then I’d say you need professional help. Then again, who am I to yuck anyone’s yum?”

“If you’re a hallucination, I think I want more drugs.”

“I don’t know why that’s so hot, but it is.” He tilted his head back as Patrick’s tongue marked its territory along David’s neck.

Patrick’s thick fingers found the button to David’s jeans under the tight leather top. He slowly pulled the zipper down, giving sweet freedom to David’s hard cock.

“Can you lock the door? I don’t want anyone walking in.”

“God. Yes. Good thinking.” Patrick gave David a quick kiss before walking away. He blinked a few times, stunned. That was the kind of kiss you give your partner before running to the grocery store or when coming back from taking out the trash. Domestic. Sweet. David didn’t do sweet. Then again, Patrick seemed sweet and if David did him? Well.

“Lights on or off?” Patrick asked from the door.

“It doesn’t matter to me. Your choice.”

Patrick strode toward David like an animal hunting its prey. “I want to see you.”

Okay then. David could work with that. Thank God their little office didn’t have any windows in it because he was gonna give Patrick a show.


	5. Chapter 5

When Patrick had woken up that morning, he’d been in a foul mood. Upset that he felt like he was starting over at an age he should be settling into a groove. Mourning the years he’d lost by not knowing himself as well as he should have. Wasting Rachel’s years.

Now? Patrick was over the goddamn moon. He’d met a man who answered every question Patrick had about his sexuality, and there hadn’t even been any dick touching. The way Patrick physically reacted to David’s presence told him all he needed to know. That the want, the need, the physical pull within him to gravitate toward David, the desire to touch and explore without worrying about anything. That, most of all, had Patrick’s head spinning. He was used to sex being calculated and strategic. How to maximize Rachel’s pleasure while minimizing her attention on him so he didn’t risk going soft or not being able to finish. It wasn’t that he didn’t find Rachel attractive, or the other girls he’d dated, but he now realized he wasn’t attracted _to_ them. Not like how he felt with David.

Being in the same room as David had Patrick’s logic and strategic brain in complete meltdown. He acted on instinct. The teasing, the honesty, the flirting, the touching. And, God, the kissing. Patrick hadn’t had thoughts beyond _more_ and _yes_ and _now_ and _I already want to see this guy again_.

He’d even expected the part of his brain that had been conditioned for long-term relationships long ago to scream at him to slow down. To keep it at kissing until they’d gone on a date. But fuck that. He’d never felt this kind of response to another person and he wanted to chase it in case he never got the chance to feel it again.

He stalked back toward David, not even embarrassed by the shit-eating grin on his face. This gorgeous and intriguing guy wanted Patrick? Out of all the people at the party, he’d seen something in Patrick. For as little as Patrick knew about David, he could tell there was something between them. The moments of shock on David’s face when he seemed to catch himself smiling or admitting something he hadn’t intended to. Patrick knew this wasn’t just in his head. So, he decided to treat it like their first time not their only time.

“Hey handsome.” Patrick cupped David’s neck and smiled as David leaned into the touch like a cat getting its ears scratched.

“Hey back,” David said as he turned his head to kiss Patrick’s palm.

Patrick wanted more contact with David, so he wrapped one arm around his shoulders and the other around his waist and kissed him with the passion of a gay man who took thirty years to realize his preferences. He felt the moment David gave in completely to the kiss. His body went pliant in Patrick’s arms as his legs wrapped back around Patrick’s body, pulling him in close until their groins touched. So hard. Both of them were so hard already. Fuck. He rocked into David, seeking friction and only getting enough to tease, no relief.

“God, Patrick, you feel so good. I want to get my hands on you. My mouth on you,” David said as Patrick kissed along his jaw. He sucked in a breath at the image of David on his knees with Patrick’s cock in his mouth. He pressed harder into David. “Seems like someone likes that idea. Is it my mouth? Do you want me to suck you?” David’s hand reached between them and gripped Patrick’s bulge. Thank Christ he didn’t come on the spot.

“Yes. Fuck, yes. Would you?”

David smiled wickedly as he pushed Patrick back. “I’ve been thinking about what you taste like since I first laid eyes on you.”

Patrick squeezed his eyes closed and groaned as he grabbed himself to relieve some pressure.

“Fuck.” David’s eyes were damn near black. He shoved Patrick back and dropped to his knees in one fluid motion. Patrick wished he had a remote so he could rewind and watch that over and over and over again. A few times in slow motion for good measure. Turn it into a GIF and watch it on loop.

Patrick immediately reached for his belt and began fumbling with the buckle.

“Easy, Superman. I’ve got this.” David looked up at him with his wild hair sticking out in all directions, hint of eyeliner (now a bit smudged, oops), the dark tint that had been on his lips when they’d met was now a memory. The fake scars and make-up mimicking gaunt shadows at his cheeks and under his eyes weren’t as pronounced. Half his makeup was probably on Patrick’s face and he couldn’t care less.

David slowly undid his belt, button and zipper. Watching his deft fingers had nearly hypnotized Patrick. When cool air tickled against the skin of Patrick’s hips, he’d pulled his attention back from David long enough to realize his pants were headed south. David tugged his boxers and pants down low enough to expose Patrick’s cock. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so hard. Maybe never.

“Beautiful.” David’s fingers gently traced along the top of it, and Patrick sucked in a breath at the touch. He moved his face closer, and his breath tickled the head as David spoke. “Perfect. You’re so hard for me, Patrick. Look at you.”

Patrick swallowed a groan as a thousand scenarios flashed through his mind. David telling him what to do. David telling him he’s a good boy. David telling Patrick how good he made David feel. David coming so hard from Patrick’s focus and attention that he forgot how to speak for a moment. David showing Patrick things he didn’t even think to imagine.

“It’s for you. I’ve never been this hard before. God, it’s you. All you.”

David’s mouth fell open for a moment, but then seemed to collect himself and refocus. “Well, we can’t have that go to waste, now can we?”

Patrick shook his head as he watched David’s mouth open further and his flat tongue stick out and lick a long, slow stripe from the base of Patrick’s cock to the head. “Fuckkkkk,” he managed with a hiss. “Fuck. Oh fuck.”

David applied pressure with his hand as his mouth and tongue worked over every inch of him. The only thing preventing Patrick from coming embarrassingly quickly was focusing on memorizing David’s face. The way his eyes closed in pleasure each time Patrick moaned. The way he hummed every time he licked over the slit. How the heel of his free hand rubbed at his crotch in time with bobbing on Patrick’s dick. But when David took him so far into his throat that his nose his Patrick’s stomach? He couldn’t hold back.

“David, oh, God. I’m going to come. Fuck! You- fuck- your mouth. So good. Perfect.” He babbled at David’s intensified assault.

As the tension in his body rose, he could barely hold himself upright. He reached a hand back over his head to press against the wall, arching his body. David moaned with Patrick in his mouth at the slight change in Patrick’s position. He seemed to take it as a challenge and removed the hand that stroked the base of Patrick’s dick to reach around and squeeze Patrick’s ass instead. He swallowed all of Patrick as his fingers massaged Patrick, dipping close to his crease. Next time. He wanted David to touch him there next time. He’d momentarily gotten distracted at the thought of all the things he and David could do, all the ways they could make each other feel good, that his orgasm nearly caught him by surprise. The tightness in his body wound through him like a lightning strike. “David, I’m- fuck!”

David tugged on Patrick’s ass to pull him he came down his throat. The feeling of David’s throat constricting around him while swallowing had the orgasm rolling through him at an intensity he’d never experienced. David eased off and stroked him gently a few times until Patrick leaned fully back against the wall when he became too sensitive.

“So, I guess when people say they came so hard they saw stars, that’s a real thing? Huh. Kinda surprised I didn’t black out.”

David laughed as he got to his feet. He stepped into Patrick’s space and ran his hands across his chest and down his sides as he leaned in to kiss his cheek. Patrick melted at the sweet gesture, but he wanted more. He cupped the sides of David’s face and pulled him in for a deep kiss. Enough to taste himself in David’s mouth.

“My turn?” He panted as he pulled back.

David bit his bottom lip. “Um, raincheck?”

Patrick frowned. Was he not single? Or had Patrick been too into it and scared him off? “Why? Are you—“

Tilting his head back and closing his eyes, David started to speak with his hands as much as his mouth. “It’s just you made _these sounds_ , and fuck, they were really great sounds. And you’re so responsive. Do you have any idea how responsive you are? God, the things I could do to you. The ways I could make you come—”

Patrick straightened up and grabbed at David’s waist halfway through his speech. “What is it?”

David looked him in the eye with a stern expression on his face. “I came in my pants like a fucking high schooler at a Halloween party from _giving_ a blow job because the guy I was sucking off is too fucking hot. Jesus Christ. I’d be more embarrassed if I wasn’t so shocked.”

Patrick stared at him with his mouth hanging open, and then looked down as though he had X-ray vision to see in his jeans. “I’d be more disappointed I didn’t get to touch your dick if I wasn’t so turned on by that.”

David growled. “I want a round two with you.” He stopped as though giving Patrick a chance to object. He nodded once as a small smile curved one side of his mouth. “But I need to clean up before I ruin these jeans.”

“Okay,” Patrick breathed.

“I’d really like to get you horizontal and see what other kinds of sounds I can get from you, but we both have roommates. How about, while I clean up, you think about how where we can go that I can get you naked and screaming my name?”

Patrick’s dick, the valiant thing, tried so hard to get hard at that. So damn hard. “Okay. Yeah. I can do that.” He’d rent a fucking hotel room if he had to. “Then I’ll take you to breakfast.” He smiled at him.

David looked almost bashful and nodded, then gave him a quick but hot kiss before strutting toward the door like he didn’t have underwear full of come. He paused as he opened the door and turned to look over his shoulder. “Don’t you go anywhere. I’m not done with you yet.”

Patrick dutifully dropped into the office chair and grinned.

“Good boy.” David arched an eyebrow before closing the door behind him and on Patrick’s strangled moan. He definitely wanted to explore that.

For several minutes, Patrick replayed the evening, trying to figure out what he’d done so right to get in front of David at the right place and the right time.

He could tell this was the start of something. He felt it in his gut. There was something about David that had him wanting to know more, and not just what his cock felt like in his mouth, but about who he was and what he liked and how he spent his time.

Whether or not round two happened, Patrick needed to make sure he didn’t part ways with David before getting a date with him. At least a phone number. Some promise beyond the night.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. Probably Ted to ask where he’d gone. He thought about the lewd arrangement of emoji he might send him when his heart jumped in his throat.

_Honey, I’m at the hospital. Your dad has appendicitis and they’re prepping him for surgery. He’s going to be fine. They caught it early enough, but I wanted you to know. I love you._

Patrick re-read the text from his mom several times as though he could stop the world from crashing down around him. His dad was invincible. Never called in sick to work, never complained about aches and pains as he aged. But appendicitis? He’d known a few people who thought it was going to be a quick laparoscopy and short recovery, but ended up being far more dangerous. He needed to be there. Needed to be there for his mom and greet his dad after surgery.

_I’m on my way. I’ll call you when I get on the road so you can fill me in, okay? Love you._

_Oh, my sweet boy. You don’t have to drive all the way back here, but I know you will anyway. Be safe. They’re supposed to take him in to prep in a half an hour so I’ll be able to talk after that._

Okay. He needed to get to Ted’s to grab some clothes and hit the road. No, he still had clothes at his parent’s house. He’d hop in the car and go straight there. If he got on the road now, he could be there in about two hours. How long did appendectomies take?

Patrick stood from the chair and froze at the cool air tickling him. He looked down and realized his pants were open. Right. Fuck. Right. He was at a Halloween party and just got the best blowjob of his life from a guy who’s last name and phone number he didn’t have.

Fuck!

He could spare a few minutes to find David. Tell him what happened and get his phone number. He rushed out the door and looked down the part of the hallway they hadn’t yet explored. He opened the door to the first bathroom he saw and spoke toward the stalls. “David? Are you in here?” Silence. He tried again at the next bathroom. Nothing. Fuck! Where did David go? Why wouldn’t he use the nearest bathrooms? Patrick tried the next set of bathrooms with no luck.

Had he ditched Patrick? He seemed so into it, into him. Why would he leave? Maybe he got caught up with friends or something?

Patrick whirled back around to rush back to the room they’d been in. He opened each drawer in the desk to search for a pen and paper to leave David a note, but found it empty. Fucking fuck!

He gave himself thirty seconds. He counted aloud and stared at the door, willing David to come back. Pants couldn’t take that long to clean up, could they? Hell, he had no idea.

But they both lived in this rural area. How hard could it be to find David again? If David didn’t come back in the next thirteen seconds or he couldn’t find him as he left the party, surely he’d see him at the grocery store or the cafe, right? He’d mentioned the cafe in Schitt’s Creek so he had to live near here.

Seven seconds.

Patrick’s attention shifted from thinking of David to his dad. Lying in a hospital bed, about to have an organ removed. His mom must be terrified. He couldn’t imagine watching someone you love get wheeled away for an unexpected emergency surgery.

David. He had to find David and tell him. He reached zero and walked back to the hallway. No sign of him. He left the light on and reluctantly made his way down the stairs. With each step, he felt weighed down, like walking through drying cement with each step away from David.

His eyes raced from side-to-side as he scanned the crowd, looking for the tall, beautiful man. But his hair and outfit were black, which made it damn near impossible to spot him in the dim lights of the party. A party which had grown in size while they’d been upstairs. Fuck! He started looking for Ted too, but couldn’t spot him. Too many people wearing scrubs.

Reaching the entrance to the party, Patrick turned around and fought tears stinging the backs of his eyes. Whether they were for his dad or for the potential loss of David, he refused to speculate. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he shot a quick text off to Ted, turned and jogged to his car and toward his family who needed him.


	6. Chapter 6

David laughed to himself as he did his best to save his jeans. Wearing one of his favorite pairs to a Halloween party probably wasn’t his best idea, but they looked great and worked for his costume. And he hadn’t counted on picking up on some random and coming in his jeans.

No, not a random. His gut screamed that Patrick was different. The spark of something between them was different. The same gut that had told him Sebastien was a bad idea, but he hadn’t listened. That told him he should have done more to stop Alexis from going on that trip to Beirut years ago where he’d nearly lost her forever. The one that told him which new designers to take a chance on that had him looking like a trendsetter. When he used to have money, anyway.

David’s gut usually tried to pull him in the right direction. The problem was David didn’t listen or his anxiety talked him out of listening. If he’d listened to his gut more, he probably would have avoided most of his romantic disasters.

That gut said Patrick was a good man. That somehow the stars had aligned and David had managed to squeak by with enough goodness to get in Patrick’s path. Even if nothing more happened between them, the glimpse of being with a good man lit a spark in David he’d tried to hide. Flared a deep yearning for a connection with someone who looked at him like he was special. Not just a hot fuck or a D-list celebrity to tell stories about or someone to buy them expensive things. But a human with feelings who deserved good things.

Long ago, David buried that desire deep. Locked in a box wrapped in duct tape and buried at the center of the Earth. And in one evening, Patrick had excavated it like some Olympic fucking archaeologist. As though Patrick’s flirting and kindness and tenderness (while being so fucking sexy) had said to that part of David, “Hey, you deserve good things too. Let me give you a taste.”

David wanted, no, needed, a whole fucking meal.

He dabbed at the inside of his jeans with the towel he’d found in the small kitchen at the end of the hallway. Thank God he’d continued past those bathrooms to find some real cleaning supplies.

Putting things back where he’d found them and leaving the dirty towel next to the sink, David picked up his phone and aimed the flash to illuminate his path back to Patrick. His cheeks nearly hurt from smiling. He hadn’t lied to Patrick when he’d said he loved how responsive he was, but hearing those words come out of his mouth had surprised him. Like Patrick had stolen his filter somehow.

He really really really really hoped Patrick had found a way to find them a bed because he wanted the whole night with him. Not a quick hookup with a random, but a fun first night with a great guy. First night.

David reached the office door and strode in with his sexiest expression. But the room was empty? David spun around in a slow circle. Patrick probably wanted to freshen up or pee or something. He noticed their empty cups still on the desk. He walked over and settled onto the chair, propping his legs back up on the desk. The anticipation making it even sweeter.

As the minutes dragged on, David’s smile waned. In his old life, he’d never had walked away from Patrick and expected him to stay. But Patrick seemed different. He seemed so damn interested in David. More than getting off, but interested in talking and flirting and spending more time together. Then again, David had witnessed plenty of epic gay panic moments. He’d probably been cleaning his pants for too long. Hell, he should have waited. What a mood killer. “Hey, I gotta go clean up my come because my pants are more important to me right now than time with you. So, wait for me?”

Or maybe he’d been too eager. When Patrick had said he’d recently realized he’s gay, David assumed that meant he had little to no experience, But that was a pretty big assumption. Maybe Patrick previously thought he was pan or bi and had been with plenty of men. Then here comes David, literally coming in his pants while giving a BJ. Talk about _coming_ on strong.

He stood from the chair and began to pace in the room. The fluorescents pierced his skull to start a throbbing headache. For a moment, he tried to think through the evening from Patrick’s perspective. Spotting a guy, thinking he’s hot, hot guy buying him a drink and flirting with him in a dark corner. Hot guy takes him upstairs then makes a smoothie diarrhea joke (JFC) and gives him an enthusiastic BJ then comes in his pants, but asks him to stick around and find them a bed. Talk about dropping a hell of a lot of pressure on Patrick’s (super fine) lap.

It was naive to expect Patrick to stick around. David had been too eager, let him in too much, been too direct. David “Too (fill in the blank)” Rose. Always too much.

Ugh. But his gut said to chill out. He’d honor his gut and wait for five minutes. He set a timer on his phone. Surely five more minutes would be enough time for Patrick to finish in the bathroom or get himself a new drink or call to reserve a hotel room or whatever the hell he was off doing instead of kissing David.

They were the longest five minutes of his life.

The scream of his phone’s alarm sent a cold shudder through David. Patrick had left. How could he blame him? He’d left plenty of people after fooling around and been left plenty of times before. Not sure why he’d expected something different in Schitt’s Creek. New York didn’t corner the market on fleeing after coming.

David returned to the party, fighting the urge to cry with every step. It was stupid. He was stupid. He’d known the guy for an hour or two and shouldn’t expect anything. Don’t expect things from people and you won’t be disappointed.

Now he was disappointed. And hurt and pissed at himself and uncomfortable because his boxers were still wet. He scanned the crowd as he wandered back into the throng. Every glimpse of blue forced his heart into his throat. No Patrick at the bar or on the dance floor.

“There you are!” Alexis booped him

“Hi.” Her face dropped as soon as he said the word.

“Someone’s looking rough. What happened to your makeup? Were you shame eating in the bathroom again?”

He huffed out a breath. “I thought we talked about not using the phrase ‘shame eating’ any longer.”

She had the grace to look chagrined. “Right, right. Sorry.” Her smile returned to its default setting. “Meet anyone?”

David cleared his throat. “Ready to go?” He didn’t want to be in that warehouse thing a minute longer. He wanted to go home and forget about everything. Or cry. Maybe both.

A crease formed between her perfectly groomed eyebrows. “Um, sure, David. Let’s find Stevie.”

He must look wrecked if she didn’t give him shit about wanting to leave before their agreed-upon time. “I’ll be in the car.” He strode off without another word, scanning the crowd as he went.

When they were on their way back, Stevie shot David glances through the rearview mirror as Alexis filled the air with chatter about the cute guys she saw and the phone numbers she got. He stayed silent during the drive. He stayed silent as he waited for Alexis to finish in the bathroom. He stayed silent as he removed his smudged make-up and rinsed the product from his hair. Rinsing the remainder of Patrick from his skin. He stayed mostly silent as he got ready for bed. Grunting affirmations at some of Alexis’s comments to keep her from prying more. He stayed silent as he huddled under his blanket and scrolled social media to try to find Patrick. He even stayed silent as he cried himself to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Patrick dumped a handful of carrot sticks on each plate and carried them over to the dining room table. “Lunch is ready,” he called to his parents.

His mom wandered in and smiled at him softly. “Thanks, sweetheart. The sandwiches look great. Your dad dozed off in the chair so we’ll let him sleep for a bit.”

Patrick tucked into his turkey sandwich. “How’d he sleep last night?”

“Really well.” Her tired eyes contradicted her easy smile. “He’s getting strong every day.”

He reached across the table and patted her hand. “He’s a strong man. He’s going to be fine.”

She let out a long sigh. “It’s been a hard week. Having you here helped. Thanks for coming home, Patty.”

Her words stuck him like a javelin to the gut. If he hadn’t have moved away, he would have been there to drive him to the hospital. His mom wouldn’t have had to spend hours alone.

But then he wouldn’t have met David. Did that even matter now? He’d left the man high and dry. He probably hated Patrick, and even if he got lucky enough to find him when he got home, why would David talk to him? Then again, if he had the chance to explain to David why he’d had to leave so quickly, he knew David would understand. Underneath the teasing and the aloof sex appeal, he could tell David had a soft heart.

The compulsion to apologize for leaving in the first place burned in his throat. An old habit of minimizing his own wants for the benefit of others. He wasn’t sure if it was a symptom of being an only child or a collection of other factors, but the urge to tell her he’d come home threatened to spill out of his mouth with every breath.

“I’m glad you reached out. I was happy to come home and help.”

She nodded as she took another bite of her sandwich. “You know, I never asked with everything going on. Were you at a Halloween party or something? I haven’t seen you in that Superman shirt in a long time.”

He took a large bite to buy himself some time to reply. He wanted to tell her about David. To say he’d met someone who had confirmed so many things for him. Someone he wanted to see again and get to know. But it sounded so dumb. He’d met a hot guy at a party and fooled around. Not exactly the kind of story to tell his mom about.

“Yeah, Ted took me to a Halloween party.”

“Oh honey, I’m sorry you left that. Were you okay to drive?”

He chuckled. “I was driving that night so I’d only had one drink.” He remembered standing next to David as he watched the bartender make their drinks. His skin buzzing in anticipation of talking to the hot Edward Scissorhands guy.

“So smart and safe.” They remained silent for a minute, but he could read her tells. She was working herself up to ask something. “Have you met anyone yet?”

Yes. Maybe. Hopefully. Probably if he hadn’t have abandoned him and made him think their time together hand’t meant anything. “Uh, I sort of met someone at the party.”

“Oh! That’s great!”

His shoulders drooped. “I didn’t get the chance to tell him why I was leaving and we hadn’t exchanged numbers yet.”

She frowned. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

He nodded. He was too. But, at the end of the day, his parents needed him and. David was a guy he’d just met who gave him the best orgasm in his life and slotted in as a few of Patrick’s firsts. He needed to find David. His meager social media stalking skills had struck out harder than him trying to bat left-handed.

“Do you think you’ll be okay if I head back tomorrow?” He’d been with them for nearly a week and they didn’t seem to need his help any longer with how well his dad was recovering.

His mom smiled, but he didn’t miss the hint of sadness in her eyes. She didn’t want him to leave, and he couldn’t blame her. But he needed to. He needed to live his own life somewhere else for a while. “Of course.”

The next day he gave his parents hugs, gave his dad a stern talking to about not over-doing it with work around the house, and loaded up the two lasagnas his mom had made for Ted’s freezer. He was on the road by lunchtime and back in Schitt’s Creek that afternoon.

“Hey bud, welcome back! How’s your dad?” Ted smiled at him from his perch on the couch. “Ooh, is that your mom’s lasagna? Dang, I’ve missed that since college.”

Patrick laughed as he stuck one in the fridge and one in the freezer. “You know it.” He grabbed them each a beer from the twelve-pack he stopped and bought them. “He’s doing well. Thankfully mom talked him into going to the ER fast enough that they were able to remove his appendix before something bad happened.” He handed Ted an open beer.

“Thanks. I’m glad to hear he’s doing well. Scary when something happens to your parents.”

Patrick nodded solemnly. It really was. “It was good to see them.”

“But you’re glad to be back here?” Ted grinned. “How many times did your mom try to convince you to move back?”

He took a long swig of his beer. “Surprisingly, none. I think she wanted me to, but she didn’t ask about it.”

“Huh.”

“I know.” Ted had talked him through several panic moments during college when his mom had complained that Patrick had chosen a school too far away. “I think the whole coming out thing maybe had her realizing I need to spread my wings a bit.”

“Your big, gay rainbow wings.”

Patrick laughed and punched Ted on the arm. “How was your week?”

Ted told him a few horror stories about animal births and surgeries and sobbing pet owners. “I also went on a date.”

He perked up. “Do tell.”

“I met her at the Halloween party. We had drinks the other night, but I don’t think it’s going anywhere. She used to date the other vet.”

Patrick bit his lip to keep from laughing. Ted couldn’t even say Miguel’s name. “Definitely a no then.”

“Definitely.”

He considered telling Patrick about David. Asking for his help in tracking David down. Okay, he’d been thinking about that he arrived at the hospital. Sitting there and waiting for his dad to come out of surgery, he’d been struck with the realization that he could have asked Ted to find David and give him Patrick’s number. The most obvious solution had come to him too late.

Having had days and days to think about it, Patrick wasn’t sure if he should mention David. What if David wasn’t out? Or had a partner? Or wasn’t really into Patrick and would be embarrassed to hear that he’d gone looking for him? He may have felt a connection between them, but maybe David viewed it differently after the excitement of the moment passed.

“You disappeared for a while at the party. Meet anyone?” Ted waggled his eyebrows. Patrick sent out a silent thanks that Ted had spared him from some awful Halloween-themed pun.

“Um, I did, but my mom texted before I could get his number.” He’d spare Ted of the details.

“Aw, man. That sucks. What’s his name? Maybe I know him.”

Patrick knew it was a long shot with how many people were at the party, but he had to try. “His name is David? And he was dressed as Edward Scissorhands?” He held his breath as he watched Ted scrunch up his face and look in the middle distance.

“I saw a couple Davids I know there, but unless you’re going for men twice your age, I’ve got nothing.”

He knew it was a long shot. There had been a lot of people at that party.

“No worries, man. I’m sure I’ll run into him sometime.” And if that meant he needed to eat every meal at Cafe Tropical the next week? Then so be it.


	8. Chapter 8

“No, David. You’re coming with me. I’m not taking no for an answer.” Alexis stood next to his bed with her arms folded in front of her chest. A power move she didn’t employ often, but it usually worked. Dammit. He’d still make her work for it though.

“I’m not in the mood to sit through an uncomfortable dinner with your latest boy toy and his friend.” _Not in the mood_ was an epic understatement. He’d rather wear polyester than suffer through that kind of torture. Watching his sister moon all over some guy while David wished he had a specific guy of his own.

“You’ve been moping around here for, like, three weeks! I can’t stand it any longer. How am I supposed live my girl boss life if I have to deal with your negative energy bringing the vibe of my home office down?”

David punched his pillow and rolled away from her. “I’m so sorry being ditched by the first person who caught my interest in years has brought down your _girl boss vibe._ ”

She let out an exasperated sigh and sat down on the bed behind his knees. “I know you’re disappointed about what happened with that guy. I get it. But you need to get back out there! What if he was great, but there’s someone better? Someone like Ted!”

David groaned and pulled his blankets over his head. “I don’t want someone like Ted.” He wanted someone like Patrick. He knew it was far too soon to want Patrick, but he wanted someone who made him feel like he did that night. But Ted? God, the puns. He couldn’t handle that any more than the little bits of exposure he’d had to Ted in passing at the cafe or during that one time he had a panic attack. But now that he and Alexis were dating, he’d probably get more puns. Ugh.

“David, I hate to do this, but it’s my turn to take a selfish.” She kept her tone even as he sucked in a breath. She wouldn’t.

“Are you seriously taking a selfish to get me to join you at dinner?” He threw he blanket back and glared at her.

“This whole thing with Ted is, like, super new! And I think it would help to have you there. A bit of a buffer.” She looked down at her hands. He knew that move. He’d seen it work on CEOs, billionaires, celebrities, and sheiks. And, he guessed, brothers.

“Fine. I’ll go. Dinner, but I’m not going to turn up the charm. I’ll work to not actively be unpleasant.”

“As if I’d expect anything more.” He covered his nose before she could tap her fingertip against it. “We’re leaving in thirty.”

“Then you’d better be done in the bathroom if you expect me to be ready in thirty.”

She groaned as she marched in the bathroom and retrieved some of her products. “Fine. All yours.”

He took a quick shower and spent the rest of the time on his hair. Napping the afternoon away had seriously fucked it up.

“Who’s this other person who’s going to be there?”

She grinned at him, and nope. Didn’t like that. “His roommate. Gay and a _total_ button. You’ll love him.”

David slammed his hairspray on the counter. “You _did not_ tell me this was a setup! I’m not some queer you can pawn off on Ted’s gay friends!”

Alexis waved her hands around. “Okay, David! Sorry! But you’ve been a total ass and Ted couldn’t exactly kick his roommate out for this dinner. So here we are. Make the best of it, okay? I won’t force you into anything.”

They stared each other down. Eventually he spat out, “fine.”

He looked in the mirror and straightened his sweater. The bold lightning bolt gave him confidence, and he’d need that to make small talk with Ted, Alexis and some rando all evening.


	9. Chapter 9

“Are you sure you want me here? I can head to the cafe for a few hours.” Over the last few weeks, he’d gotten to know the cafe’s menu intimately, met quite a few locals, but not the one he’d wanted. He’d nearly resorted to asking everyone he talked to if they knew a tall, dark and handsome guy named David. How many of those could there be in the area? But with each day that passed, the odds of running into him seemed slim, and the odds of David thinking he was some kind of creepy stalker grew.

“No way, man. I want you there. I’d like you to get to know Alexis.” Ted looked down and smiled. “She’s something special.”

Patrick smiled at him. It was nice to see Ted happy. He was such a cheerful guy and deserved someone who kept the smile on his face.

“Did I mention she’s bringing her brother?” Ted said casually as he looked away from him as he placed napkins on the small dining table.

Ted avoiding eye contact meant one thing. “Let me guess, her brother is gay.” Surely Tex and Alexis had planned this. He wondered if her brother knew what he was walking in to?

Ted shrugged. “I mean, I don’t think gay, but he likes men.”

He exhaled a long breath to cool his annoyance. Hard to get upset at the guy letting you crash on his couch and who had let you mope around without pressing for anything. “Are you seriously trying to set me up with your girlfriend’s brother? Are you shooting for a brother-in-law situation here?” He knocked his elbow into Ted’s side. His friend had the grace to blush.

“I mean, I wouldn’t hate that, but definitely too early to know if this thing with Alexis and I will go long term.”

Patrick tried to have a cheerful conversation with Ted as he tried to mentally pump himself up for some sort of date with a stranger. Ugh. He didn’t want to make small talk with some random guy. He wanted to see David.

He excused himself to go change his shirt. If he was going to be on a date, he might as well change out of his threadbare Blue Jays shirt and into a button-up.

Twenty minutes later, he pulled out a bottle of wine and popped the cork as Ted mixed up a salad. A knock at the door startled him.

“Show time. Do I look okay?”

Patrick smiled. “You look great.” Ted’s slim fit dress shirt and khakis were much better for a date than his usual scrubs.

Ted rushed over to the door and pulled it open. “Hey, Alexis! Hey, David!”

Patrick froze and turned around to look at the open door blocking the apartment’s entryway. David? No way. It couldn’t be?

“Hey, cutie!” A beautiful woman flitted into the room and wrapped her arms around Ted’s neck, giving him a quick kiss on the lips.”

“We’re doing that right out in public, are we?”

That voice. Oh my God. Patrick knew that voice. His heart thudded in his chest. David. His David!

Alexis rolled her eyes and moved out of the way. “Shut up, David.”

A broad hand with long fingers attached to a long-sleeve black sweater moved beyond the open door. Then a tall frame. Hair. Perfect hair styled into a swoop. Long legs in black skinny jeans.

“David,” Patrick croaked.

As though in slow motion, David froze and turned toward the voice. His mouth formed an O as his eyes went nearly as wide. “Patrick?!”

The sound of glass shattering tugged at Patrick’s mind, but he didn’t care. Couldn’t care. All that mattered was David there. In his space. In the same apartment. Ted knew David?! He said he didn’t!

David’s mouth curved into the most brilliant smile Patrick had ever seen. A smile that said he was as happy to see Patrick as Patrick was to see David. All the permission he needed, Patrick rushed over to him and planted a kiss on him that he’d thought about a thousand times since Halloween.

“Um, you two know each other?”

The words washed over Patrick. All that mattered was David’s enthusiastic lips on him, his arms wrapped around his shoulders, the feel of David’s waist under his hands.

He pulled back to look in David’s eyes to make sure he’s real. “Hi.”

David blinked at him then dropped his forehead onto Patrick’s shoulder as he laughed and laughed and laughed some more. Patrick joined him because he was so damn happy.

“I’ll just clean up that wine,” Ted said.

Patrick turned to look and realized what the breaking glass sound had been. “Oh, um, sorry Ted.”

Ted waved a hand. “No worries, bud.” He heard Ted and Alexis chatting over in the kitchen and turning on some music. He was grateful for the privacy in Ted’s small apartment.

Patrick turned back to David. “You’re here.”

“ _You’re_ here.”

They stared at each other and smiled for several long moments. Patrick worried that if he blinked or turned away, David would disappear like a fever dream. As the adrenaline faded, guilt filled its place. “I’m so sorry I left.” He grabbed David’s hands and squeezed.

The smile fell from David’s face. “Why did you?” His voice was small and it sliced through Patrick’s heart.

He led David over to the couch. “When you left, I got a text from my mom. She was in the hospital with my dad. He had appendicitis.”

David’s eyes softened. “Is he okay?”

Patrick squeezed his eyes closed for a moment and smiled. He knew David had a soft heart. “Yeah, he’s doing really well now. Back to normal.”

“Good,” he said with a small smile.

“I looked for you. I went into every bathroom I found on that floor. I waited as long as I could before I felt like I had to get on the road. I needed to be there before he got out of surgery. But I left and I felt so bad. I didn’t even get your last name or your phone number and I felt—“

David cupped his face. “Hey, hey it’s okay. We’re here now and your dad is okay. That’s good. It’s good you left to be there for them.”

Patrick nodded and smiled. “After I got to the hospital, I realized I should have immediately asked Ted to find you to give you my number. I was so stupid. I wasn’t thinking straight.” He let out a hollow laugh. “I even tried to find paper and a pen to leave you a note.”

As he spoke, David’s eyes widened and he stiffened.

“What’s wrong?” Patrick squeezed David’s hand.

“I just- I didn’t expect you to feel the same. I thought I was deranged for feeling a connection with someone I’d just met. But you seemed different. I don’t know.” He gave his head and looked up at the ceiling.

Patrick felt like he could float away. “You felt it too? I worried I was overthinking it. Getting caught up on my first, you know, and imprinting on your or something. But my gut said something else.”

“Your first?!” David’s mouth fell open. “Jesus, Patrick.”

He felt his cheeks heat up. “I know, I don’t have much experience and I—“

David pressed a finger over his lips. “Nope. Don’t do that. It doesn’t matter.” He shifted his hand to rub his thumb along his jaw. “Just shocked because you were so, um, into it. That’s all. No shyness?” David squinted. “You know what I’m saying.”

Patrick grinned. “Do I, David? I don’t know. You might need to spell it out for me.”

David’s lips disappeared between his teeth, bringing his dimples out. “I’m not going to do that with my sister over there,” he hissed.

They smiled at each other, and Patrick nearly passed out from the relief coursing through him.

He held out his hand. “Hi, I’m Patrick Brewer. I’d like to get your phone number and take you on a date. A real date. Not this weird set-up situation, though I think this also counts.”

David chuckled. That sound. God, that sound. “Hi, Patrick Brewer. I’m David Rose. I’d love to go on a date with you.” He shook Patrick’s hand with hands softer than Patrick remembered. Staring down at those fingers, he blushed at the memories of where they’d been a few weeks ago. David reached into his pocket and tapped on his screen, then handed his phone over. “Not risking you fleeing again without your number.”

Patrick added himself to David’s contacts. “You know where I live now, though.”

“True.”

Feeling more settled than he had in as long as he could remember, he looked toward the kitchen. “Shall we fill them in on that weird scene?”

David stood. “Yeah. God. Alexis is never going to let me live this down.” His sweet smile said it was worth it.

They walked over to the kitchen. “So, Ted, remember how I told you about the guy I met on Halloween?”

Alexis gasped. “David! This button is who you’ve been moping over like a super sad Eeyore?”

“Aww, David. You’ve been moping over me?” He knocked his hip into Patrick’s.

“I wouldn’t call it _moping_. More like,” he paused. “Okay, fine, I was a fucking mess. I don’t need to be coy.” He threw his hands in the air.

“Such a mess. Patrick, you wouldn’t believe it.”

“Okay!” David snipped as his sister.

“Ted, you already knew David?”

Ted smiled. That constant, friendly smile. “Yup! I’ve known him almost the whole time he’s lived here.”

Patrick swallowed. “And when I told you about the guy named David I’d met who was dressed up as Edward Scissorhands, you didn’t make the connection?”

The wattage of Ted’s smile dimmed a bit. “Huh. You know, I probably should have put that together. I didn’t see him at the party so I never made the connection. Sorry!”

David shifted so he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Patrick, much like when they watched people dancing at the party. Except this time, his arms menacingly crossed his chest. “Alexis, when I told you about the guy named Patrick I’d met who just moved to town, you didn’t think it could be _Ted’s roommate named Patrick who’d just moved to town?!_ ” He practically shrieked at her. Patrick soothingly rubbed a hand on David’s back.

“Ugh, David! You can’t expect me to remember everything you say!”

“Everything I say?! I can’t believe you!”

Ted and Patrick smiled at each other. He got the distinct feeling this wouldn’t be the first sibling spat he’d witness, but he was ready to witness many more.

“I made one mistake, David!” She crossed her arms and glared right back at him.

“What about that time I got stranded at the Amish farm and you didn’t return my text or tell anyone where I was? Two mistakes, Alexis. This makes two.”

“Ugh, whatever David. _You’re welcome_ for getting you back together with Patrick.”

David’s arms dropped and Patrick felt the fight leave him. “Thanks, Alexis. You’re forgiven.”

Her glare disappeared in a flash and she beamed at him. “Ohmygod, we can do double dates!” She clapped her hands and squealed.

Patrick turned to face David. “So, you’ve been moping around, huh?”

“Eeyore is not an incorrect assessment.”

Patrick laughed and pulled David’s hand to his lap. “I think I have the Cafe Tropical menu memorized. I’ve eaten there more times than I can count, hoping I’d catch you.”

David’s answering smile warmed Patrick more than standing next to a campfire. “Please tell me you avoided the smoothies.”

“Like the plague.”

“Good boy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm over on Tumblr at [lisamc-21](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/lisamc-21).


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